As three leading industry experts gazed into their crystal balls Tuesday during their NATE UNITE 2016 presentation, “The Future of the Wireless Industry,” their consensus indicated a robust build program that could last for more than a decade. However, Clayton Funk of Media Venture Partners, Christopher Fisher, Cuddy & Feder LLP; and Robert Paige, Vertical Bridge, cautioned National Association of …
Workshop panelists ferret out tower climber concerns and possible solutions
During his opening statement at a Department of Labor / Federal Communications Commission tower climber safety workshop on Feb. 11, 2016, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said that “everybody has to be proactive,” emphasizing the need to champion pre-emptive strikes by all wireless industry stakeholders in order to continue to improve upon a lower climber fatality rate that was achieved in 2015. …
FCC and DOL’s tower climber safety and apprenticeship program’s workshop agenda set
As part of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) and Department of Labor’s (DOL) efforts to reduce communications tower-related fatalities and injuries, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announce the agenda for their upcoming workshop on tower climber safety and Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP). As …
Sprint provides a sound thrashing to Re/code for their scoop that duped journalists, tanking stocks
Sprint: Towercos have nothing to worry about – for now At two conference calls this morning, Sprint said that an article by tech website Re/code on Jan. 15, 2016, was not accurate, and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, during a media call, said the misinformation regarding a Sprint radical network overhaul “caused a lot of damage”. Re/code had claimed, according to …
Sprint should have a sanity check before it commits ‘Network Suicide’ with its pole plans
By Iain Gillott – Commentary Much has been written and speculated in the last week about Sprint’s network plans after the publication of a Re/Code article and the plan to significantly cut network expenses. Aside from the resulting pressure on the stocks of several wireless companies, including Sprint’s, it also appears that the article has caused Sprint to move up …
Tower company executives’ ears will be on Sprint’s conference call tomorrow
Sprint moved its quarterly analysts’ earnings call to tomorrow morning in what some analysts believe is an apparent move to ease the concerns of investors after an article on a tech website said that the carrier was going to move its base stations from American Tower and Crown Castle sites to government properties “which costs much less”. The carrier had …
Misleading Re/code Sprint story is long on conjecture, short on facts
Facts that would have made better reading and more sense By Ken Schmidt After reading Wireless Estimator’s article, “Towercos tank after radical unconfirmed report of government competition,” and seeing the original article from Re/code on Friday, I felt compelled to respond. It seemed reckless to me that a website like Re/code could publish an unconfirmed report, have it copied by …
Towercos tank after radical unconfirmed report of government competition
Report seen as ‘nonsense’ by siting professionals UPDATE, Jan. 19, 2016 – Deep diving industry expert Ken Schmidt has provided a detailed analysis of why Re/code’s “improper deductive reasoning” in their article doesn’t dovetail with available information regarding Sprint’s Next Generation Network. The story, published on Jan. 15, 2016, claimed that Sprint would be relocating its cell sites from American Tower Corporation …
FirstNet RFP hits the streets with a low end $6.75 billion price tag
Yesterday’s long-awaited request for proposal (RFP) for the US First Responder Network Authority’s (FirstNet) public safety network will provide the government’s selected carrier or contractor with $6.5 billion to support the project buildout, in addition to access to 20 MHz of spectrum, but the winning bidder will be required to pay FirstNet a minimum of $6.75 billion over the life …
Wireless workforce and supplier requirements for 2016 continue to be mostly upbeat
To project whether 2016 will be a banner, bust or somewhere-in-between year for wireless construction, and service and supplier providers, one has to simply search for the devil or angel that’s always in the details. Unfortunately, conflicting details and limited industry information clouds accurate projections. But the industry overall appears to be still creating jobs and there should be a robust …
FCC’s wireless competition report has its Commissioner and association adversaries
The Federal Communications Commission released its 18th report to Congress on competition in the wireless industry which sheds little light on whether or not carriers are competitive. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau said in its report that the goal of the Commission is to promote competition and it “must continue to play an essential role in the mobile wireless industry,” hopefully …
AT&T work is a top Christmas wish list item for contractors and suppliers
Last year’s holiday gifts from AT&T came in the form of canceled construction purchase orders bandaged in cheerfully-colored stress-relieving bubble wrap, painstakingly selected by CEO Randall Stephenson. And although Stephenson told investors last week that “there’s going to be a continual downward pressure on our capital spending,” possibly signaling another coal stocking stuffer, some analysts believe that AT&T is going …
New York subway system’s DAS expansion welcomed in troubling times
With New York City going to high alert in response to the release of a new ISIS video that sets Times Square in the terror group’s bombing or chemical-warfare sight, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s announcement last Thursday that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Transit Wireless have launched the Phase 4 expansion of wireless, public safety and Wi-Fi services …
FCC hits two carriers with $85,000 in fines for RF exposure rooftop violations in Arizona
Two carriers were cited by the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau for similar violations for failing to comply with the FCC’s radio frequency exposure limits after the owner of a building at 4040 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, Ariz. complained to enforcement agents that his building staff have difficulty gaining RF exposure safety assistance from the carriers that use his rooftop. …
American Tower cautions investors that their MLA with AT&T isn’t expiring in 2016
In American Tower Corp.’s investors’ conference call this morning, EVP and CFO Tom Bartlett cautioned analysts that their master lease agreement (MLA) with AT&T was not expiring in 2016 when he was questioned by one caller regarding the expiration. Bartlett said he had seen that statement in some write-ups, but it wasn’t correct. In August, SVP and Treasurer Leah Stearns …
T-Mobile’s Legere predicts ‘dark horse’ bidders in 600 MHz auction
John Legere, the oftentimes eccentric and outspoken CEO of T-Mobile US, in a studio setting that mirrored an Imus in the Morning production complete with caustic remarks by the un-carrier chief, provided an entertaining as well as illuminating third-quarter conference call where Legere said today, “I do expect some dark horses to show up,” such as Google and Charter Communications …
Crown Castle will reinstate gag order keeping them from discussing carriers
Crown Castle CEO Ben Moreland said yesterday during the company’s Q3 conference call that Crown’s executives used to refrain from speaking with any specificity about carrier deployments, but “over the last couple of years, we’ve sort of relaxed that standard, and probably spoken a little bit too much occasionally around specific carrier deployment plans.” But Crown’s easing of carrier build …
Saints backup quarterback’s loss is still good for Verizon’s backup message
Verizon’s newest commercial features New Orleans Saints’ backup quarterback Luke McCown in full uniform as he looks at a Verizon cell tower with a gen set on an elevated platform, as he states, “Verizon has backup generators for most of their towers, so they’re ready if the power ever goes down.” He then salutes the cell tower with his helmet and …
T-Mobile and Verizon tie for high LTE speeds in the U.S. but America gets a failing grade
T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless are almost tied for the fastest U.S. LTE data speeds, according to OpenSignal, a network testing firm. However, the U.S. was ranked number nine in the world for coverage, but received failing grades for its LTE speeds overall. Verizon was identified as having the most LTE coverage in America, followed by AT&T, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Sprint …
Deceased tower techs’ signatures were forged to falsely state they were W-9 contractors
A U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Administrative Law Judge has found that a Louisiana tower erector’s owners, during a hearing to vacate a $7,000 Serious OSHA fine received following the death of two of the company’s workers in 2013, purposely misled the court, fraudulently altered documents and were deceitful in a number of representations, and he denied their …
